Bicycle power meter

ABSTRACT

A bicycle power meter includes a strain gauge, a signal processing unit, a processor, and a signal transmitter. The strain gauge is disposed on at least one of an outer peripheral wall and an inner peripheral wall of a handlebar of a bicycle. The signal processing unit connected to the strain gauge by signal correspondingly outputs an electrical signal based on a deformation of the handlebar detected by the strain gauge. The processor connected to the signal processing unit by signal receives the electrical signal sent by the signal processing unit and calculates a measuring value based on the electrical signal and sends the measuring value in an output signal. The signal transmitter connected to the processor by signal receives the output signal sent by the processor and converts the output signal to a wired or wireless signal and sends the wired or wireless signal to a terminal device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to a power meter of a bicycle,and more particularly to a power meter which could detect a powerexerted on a handlebar by a user.

Description of Related Art

In order to monitor a riding performance, a bicyclist usually mounts apower meter on a bicycle to make a riding performance measurable,wherein a measuring result could be used as a reference for training.The conventional power meter is generally disposed on pedals or oncranks of the bicycle to measure forces exerted to the pedals or thecranks of the bicycle by legs of the bicyclist, thereby to calculate apower exerted by the bicyclist and output the power for reference, andtherefore the bicyclist can effectively monitor the power outputted byhis/her own, improving the riding performance.

However, riding the bicycle is a whole-body exercise, which means thepower output of a bicyclist when riding the bicycle is not limited tothe legs. The conventional power meter installed on the pedal or thecrank of the bicycle can effectively detect the output power of mainlythe legs of the rider, but cannot detect the power output from the otherparts of the rider's body, so that the bicyclist cannot monitor thepower output accurately, which affects the riding performance. In allaspects, the conventional power meter still has room for improvement.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above, the primary objective of the present disclosure isto provide a bicycle power meter which could detect a power exerted on ahandlebar by a bicyclist.

The present disclosure provides a bicycle power meter which is appliedto a bicycle, wherein the bicycle includes a head and a frame. The headincludes a handlebar and a stem. The stem is connected to the handlebarand the frame. The bicycle power meter includes at least one straingauge, a signal processing unit, a processor, and a signal transmitter.The at least one strain gauge is disposed on an outer peripheral wall ofthe handlebar, on an inner peripheral wall of the handlebar, or on boththe outer peripheral wall and the inner peripheral wall of thehandlebar. The signal processing unit is connected to the at least onestrain gauge by signal, wherein the signal processing unitcorrespondingly outputs an electrical signal based on a deformation ofthe handlebar detected by the at least one strain gauge. The processoris connected to the signal processing unit by signal, wherein theprocessor receives the electrical signal of the signal processing unitand calculates a measuring value based on the electrical signal andoutputs the measuring value in an output signal. The signal transmitterconnected to the processor by signal, wherein the signal transmitterreceives the output signal outputted by the processor and converts theoutput signal to a wired or wireless signal and sends the wired orwireless signal to a terminal device.

With the aforementioned design, the at least one strain gauge of thebicycle power meter is disposed on an outer peripheral wall of thehandlebar, on an inner peripheral wall of the handlebar, or on both theouter peripheral wall and the inner peripheral wall of the handlebar,thereby the at least one strain gauge of the bicycle power meter coulddetect deformations of the handlebar when the bicyclist rides thebicycle or when the bicyclist pedals out of a saddle of the bicycle, andthe processor calculates the measuring value based on the electricalsignal and outputs the measuring value in the output signal forreference. In this way, the bicyclist could realize the power valuesoutputted when the bicyclist rides the bicycle or pedals out of thesaddle more comprehensive, which facilitates to enhance the ridingperformance of the bicyclist. In addition, the bicyclist could monitorthe stress value that the handlebar bears, and the strain value of thehandlebar at the same time, thereby to estimate a degree of fatigue ofthe handlebar and a service life of the handlebar.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure will be best understood by referring to thefollowing detailed description of some illustrative embodiments inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the bicycle power meter according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the bicycle power meter according tothe embodiment of the present disclosure is disposed on the handlebar;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the bicycle power meter according tothe embodiment of the present disclosure is disposed on the stem;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the bicycle power meter according tothe embodiment of the present disclosure is disposed inside thehandlebar;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the bicycle power meter according tothe embodiment of the present disclosure is disposed inside the stem;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing the bicycle power meter according tothe embodiment of the present disclosure is disposed inside thehandlebar;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing the bicycle power meter according tothe embodiment of the present disclosure is disposed on the left sectionand the right section of the handlebar;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing the bicycle power meter according tothe embodiment of the present disclosure is disposed inside the leftsection and the right section of the handlebar;

FIG. 9A is a schematic view showing the bicycle power meter according tothe embodiment of the present disclosure is disposed on the integralhandlebar;

FIG. 9B is a schematic view showing the bicycle power meter according tothe embodiment of the present disclosure is disposed on the integralhandlebar;

FIG. 10A is a schematic view showing the bicycle power meter accordingto the embodiment of the present disclosure is disposed on the integralhandlebar; and

FIG. 10B is a schematic view showing the bicycle power meter accordingto the embodiment of the present disclosure is disposed on the integralhandlebar.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A bicycle power meter 1 of an embodiment according to the presentdisclosure is illustrated in FIG. 1 , which includes a strain gauge 10,a signal processing unit 20, a processor 30, and a signal transmitter40. The bicycle power meter 1 is applied to a bicycle, wherein thebicycle includes a head and a frame 2. The head includes a handlebar 3and a stem 4, wherein the stem 4 is respectively connected to thehandlebar 3 and a steerer tube of a fork of the frame 2. Referring toFIG. 2 and FIG. 3 , the strain gauge 10 could be disposed on thehandlebar 3 as shown in FIG. 2 or could be disposed on the stem 4 asshown in FIG. 3 , thereby to detect a deformation of the handlebar 3 ora deformation of the stem 4.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the strain gauge 10 is connected to the signalprocessing unit 20 by signal, and the processor 30 is respectivelyconnected to the signal processing unit 20 and the signal transmitter 40by signal. In this way, the signal processing unit 20 correspondinglyoutputs an electrical signal based on the deformations of the handlebar3 or the stem 4 detected by the strain gauge 10. The processor 30receives the electrical signal outputted by the signal processing unit20 and calculates a measuring value based on the electrical signal andoutputs the measuring value in an output signal. The signal transmitter40 receives the output signal outputted by the processor 30 and convertsthe output signal to a wired or wireless signal and sends the wired orwireless signal to a terminal device 50 for being read by the user. Asused in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow,the meaning of “connected by signal” may include a wired or wirelessconnection.

In addition, the signal processing unit 20 includes a bridge circuit, anamplifier circuit, and an analog to digital converting circuit, whereinthe bridge circuit is connected to the amplifier circuit, and theamplifier circuit is connected to the analog to digital convertingcircuit. When the strain gauge 10 detects the deformations of thehandlebar 3 or the stem 4 to correspondingly generate a resistancechange, the amplifier circuit amplifies an output voltage, which isgenerated by the bridge circuit based on the resistance change, and theanalog to digital converting circuit converts the output voltage to adigital electrical signal and sends the digital electrical signal to theprocessor 30. In this way, the processor 30 could correspondingly outputthe output signal based on the deformations of the handlebar 3 or thestem 4 detected by the strain gauge 10.

The measuring value includes at least one of a power value, a torquevalue, a stress value, and a strain value, or a combination of at leasttwo of the power value, the torque value, the stress value, and thestrain value. The terminal device 50 includes a display 52 which isconnected to the signal transmitter 40 by signal to correspondinglydisplay a detecting result of the strain gauge 10 for reference. Theterminal device 50 could be a computer, a smartphone, a bicyclecyclocomputer, and so on. In this way, when the strain gauge 10 deformswith the handlebar 3 or the stem 4, the resistance change of the straingauge 10 could reflect the detecting result to the terminal device 50for reference, the detecting result could be, such as at least one ofthe power value outputted by the user, the torque value exerted on thehandlebar 3 or the stem 4 by the user, the stress value that thehandlebar 3 or the stem 4 bears, and the strain value of the handlebar 3or the stem 4, or a combination thereof, thereby could not only detectthe power values exerted on the handlebar 3 or the stem 4 by the user indifferent situations (e.g., when riding on bumpy roads, when pedals outof a saddle of the bicycle, or when riding in a fixed riding posture),and could but also monitor the stress value that the handlebar 3 or thestem 4 bears, and the strain value of the handlebar 3 or the stem 4, soas to estimate a degree of fatigue of the handlebar 3 or the stem 4 anda service life of the handlebar 3 or the stem 4. In addition, said data(i.e., the measuring value) could be applied to a bicycle with anauxiliary power, thereby to determine whether the user needs anintervention of the auxiliary power or to determine how much auxiliarypower the user needs based on the data.

The bicycle power meter 1 includes a storage unit 60 which is connectedto the processor 30 by signal, wherein a comparison value (e.g. aspecific value or a range of values) is stored in the storage unit 60.When the processor 30 receives the electrical signal, that the signalprocessing unit 20 outputs based on the deformations of the handlebar 3or the stem 4 detected by the strain gauge 10, and calculates themeasuring value based on the electrical signal, the processor 30compares the measuring value and the comparison value based on thecomparison value stored in the storage unit 60 and generates acomparison result. When there is a specific relation between themeasuring value and the comparison value (e.g. when the measuring valueis greater than the comparison value or when the measuring value fallsout of the range of the comparison value), the processor 30 sends aprompting signal to the signal transmitter 40 based on the comparisonresult. The signal transmitter 40 receives the prompting signal andconverts the prompting signal to a wired or wireless signal and sendsthe wired or wireless signal to the terminal device 50 for prompting theuser. In this way, when the strain gauge 10 detects that the handlebar 3or the stem 4 generates an unusual deformation, the processor 30 couldsend the prompting signal to the terminal device 50 in a form of a text,a lighting, an image, or all of the text, the lighting, and the imagefor reminding the user to pay attention and to replace the handlebar 3or the stem 4, preventing the handlebar 3 or the stem 4 from suddenlydamaging or breaking due to long-term stress.

In the current embodiment, the handlebar 3 includes two grippingportions 31 and a connecting portion 32 as shown in FIG. 2 , wherein oneof the gripping portions 31 is connected to an end of the connectingportion 32, and the other one of the gripping portions 31 is connectedto another end of the connecting portion 32. The gripping portions 31are adapted to be gripped by the user. The strain gauge 10 is attachedon an outer peripheral wall or an inner peripheral wall of theconnecting portion 32 of the handlebar 3 to detect a deformation of theconnecting portion 32 of the handlebar 3, wherein the strain gauge 10disposed on the outer peripheral wall of the handlebar 3 has theadvantage of easily installing, replacing, and maintaining. In otherembodiments, the strain gauge 10 could be disposed on the innerperipheral wall of the handlebar 3 as shown in FIG. 4 , thereby toreduce external force collision and have a better appearance at the sametime. Similarly, the strain gauge 10 could be attached to an outerperipheral wall of the stem 4 as shown in FIG. 3 for easily installing,replacing, and maintaining, or could be disposed on an inner peripheralwall of the stem 4 as shown in FIG. 5 for reducing external forcecollision and providing a better appearance at the same time. Inpractice, the strain gauge 10 could be disposed on other positions ofthe stem 4, but not limited to the disposing positions shown in FIG. 3and FIG. 5 . In addition, the connecting portion 32 of the handlebar 3has a left section 321 and a right section 322 which are connected toeach other, wherein the strain gauge 10 could be disposed on the leftsection 321, the right section 322, or a middle section of theconnecting portion 32 as shown in FIG. 6 , thereby to detect thedeformations of the handlebar 3 generated on different positions.

When the bicycle power meter 1 includes two strain gauges 10, the straingauges 10 could be respectively disposed on the left section 321 and theright section 322. Similarly, the strain gauges 10 could be disposed onthe outer peripheral wall of the handlebar 3 as shown in FIG. 7 or couldbe disposed on the inner peripheral wall of the handlebar 3 as shown inFIG. 8 , wherein the processor 30 could respectively calculate a leftmeasuring value and a right measuring value based on deformations of theleft section 321 and the right section 322 detected by the strain gauge10 disposed on the left section 321 and the right section 322, and couldrespectively output the left measuring value and the right measuringvalue in the output signal. In this way, the user could further realizethe data such as power values respectively outputted by user's left andright hands, the torque values respectively exerted on the handlebar 3by the user's left and right hands, the strain values that the leftsection 321 and the right section 322 of the handlebar 3 respectivelybear, and the strain values of the left section 321 and the rightsection 322 of the handlebar 3.

In an embodiment, the processor 30 could calculate a percentage of theleft measuring value out of a sum of the left measuring value and theright measuring value and a percentage of the right measuring value outof the sum of the left measuring value and the right measuring valuebased on the left measuring value and the right measuring value, andsend the percentages in the output signal, thereby to provide the datato the user, such as percentages of the power values respectivelyoutputted by the user's left and right hands, percentages of the torquevalues respectively exerted on the handlebar 3 by the user's left andright hands, percentages of the strain values that the left section 321and the right section 322 of the handlebar 3 respectively bear, andpercentages of the strain values of the left section 321 and the rightsection 322 of the handlebar 3.

It is worth mentioning that, referring to FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B, thebicycle power meter 1 of the present disclosure could be applied to anintegral handlebar that the handlebar and the stem are integrally formedas a monolithic unit, wherein the integral handlebar has two grippingportions 31, a connecting portion 32, and an engaging portion 42. One ofthe gripping portions 31 is connected to an end of the connectingportion 32, and the other of the gripping portions 31 is connected toanother end of the connecting portion 32. The gripping portions 31 areadapted to be gripped by the user. The connecting portion 32 has a leftsection 321 and a right section 322 which are connected to each other.An end of the engaging portion 42 is connected to the connecting portion32, and another end of the engaging portion 42 extends in a directionaway from the connecting portion 32 and is connected to a steerer tubeof a fork of the frame 2. The strain gauge 10 could be attached to theconnecting portion 32 as shown in FIG. 9A or could be attached to theengaging portion 42 as shown in FIG. 9B, thereby to detect deformationsof the connecting portion 32 or the engaging portion 42 of the integralhandlebar. Similarly, the strain gauge 10 could be disposed outside orinside the connecting portion 32 or be disposed outside or inside theengaging portion 42. When the bicycle power meter 1 includes two or morestrain gauges 10, the strain gauges 10 could be selectively disposed onthe left section 321, the right section 322, or the engaging portion 42as shown in FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B. Moreover, the bicycle power meter 1of the present disclosure not only could be applied to a bent handlebaras shown in FIG. 9A, FIG. 9B, FIG. 10A, and FIG. 10B, but also could beapplied to a flat bar which is commonly used by mountain bicycles,aerobars or tri-bars which are commonly used in race.

In conclusion, the bicycle power meter 1 of the present disclosure notonly could detect the power values exerted on the handlebar 3 or thestem 4 by the user, but also could monitor a riding performance of theuser more comprehensive, and could monitor the torque value exerted onthe handlebar 3 or the stem 4, the stress value that the handlebar 3 orthe stem 4 bears, and the strain value of the handlebar 3 or the stem 4at the same time, thereby to estimate a degree of fatigue of thehandlebar 3 or the stem 4 and a service life of the handlebar 3 or thestem 4.

It must be pointed out that the embodiment described above is only apreferred embodiment of the present disclosure. All equivalentstructures which employ the concepts disclosed in this specification andthe appended claims should fall within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A bicycle power meter which is applied to abicycle, wherein the bicycle comprises a head and a frame; the headcomprises a handlebar and a stem; the stem is connected to the handlebarand the frame; the bicycle power meter comprises: at least one straingauge disposed on an outer peripheral wall of the handlebar, on an innerperipheral wall of the handlebar, or on both the outer peripheral walland the inner peripheral wall of the handlebar; a signal processing unitconnected to the at least one strain gauge by signal, wherein the signalprocessing unit correspondingly outputs an electrical signal based on adeformation of the handlebar detected by the at least one strain gauge;a processor connected to the signal processing unit by signal, whereinthe processor receives the electrical signal of the signal processingunit and calculates a measuring value based on the electrical signal andoutputs the measuring value in an output signal; a signal transmitterconnected to the processor by signal, wherein the signal transmitterreceives the output signal outputted by the processor and converts theoutput signal to a wired or wireless signal and sends the wired orwireless signal to a terminal device; and a storage unit connected tothe processor by signal, wherein at least one comparison value is storedin the storage unit; the processor compares the measuring value and theat least one comparison value to generate a comparison result, and sendsa prompting signal to the signal transmitter based on the comparisonresult; the signal transmitter receives the prompting signal andconverts the prompting signal to a wired or wireless signal and sendsthe wired or wireless signal converted from the prompting signal to theterminal device for prompting a user.
 2. The bicycle power meter ofclaim 1, wherein the handlebar comprises two gripping portions and aconnecting portion; one of the gripping portions is connected to an endof the connecting portion, and the other of the gripping portions isconnected to another end of the connecting portion; the at least onestrain gauge is disposed on the connecting portion.
 3. The bicycle powermeter of claim 1, wherein the measuring value comprises at least one ofa power value, a torque value, a stress value, and a strain value, or acombination thereof.
 4. The bicycle power meter of claim 1, wherein theat least one comparison value is a range of values; when the comparisonresult is that the measuring value falls out of the range of values, theprocessor sends the prompting signal to the signal transmitter.
 5. Thebicycle power meter of claim 1, wherein the at least one comparisonvalue is a specific value; when the comparison result is that themeasuring value is greater than the specific value, the processor sendsthe prompting signal to the signal transmitter.
 6. The bicycle powermeter of claim 2, wherein the connecting portion has a left section anda right section which are connected to each other; the at least onestrain gauge comprises two strain gauges respectively disposed on theleft section and the right section; the processor respectivelycalculates a left measuring value and a right measuring value based ondeformations of the left section and the right section detected by thestrain gauges disposed on the left section and the right section, andrespectively outputs the left measuring value and the right measuringvalue in the output signal.
 7. The bicycle power meter of claim 6,wherein the processor calculates a percentage of the left measuringvalue out of a sum of the left measuring value and the right measuringvalue and a percentage of the right measuring value out of the sum ofthe left measuring value and the right measuring value based on the leftmeasuring value and the right measuring value, and send the percentageof the left measuring value out of a sum of the left measuring value andthe right measuring value and the percentage of the right measuringvalue out of the sum of the left measuring value and the right measuringvalue in the output signal.
 8. The bicycle power meter of claim 1,wherein the terminal device comprises a display connected to the signaltransmitter by signal for displaying a detecting result corresponding tothe at least one strain gauge.
 9. The bicycle power meter of claim 1,wherein the handlebar and the stem are integrally formed as a monolithicunit.
 10. A bicycle power meter which is applied to a bicycle, whereinthe bicycle comprises a head and a frame; the head comprises a handlebarand a stem; the stem is connected to the handlebar and the frame; thebicycle power meter comprises: at least one strain gauge disposed on anouter peripheral wall of the handlebar, on an inner peripheral wall ofthe handlebar, or on both the outer peripheral wall and the innerperipheral wall of the handlebar; a signal processing unit connected tothe at least one strain gauge by signal, wherein the signal processingunit correspondingly outputs an electrical signal based on a deformationof the handlebar detected by the at least one strain gauge; a processorconnected to the signal processing unit by signal, wherein the processorreceives the electrical signal of the signal processing unit andcalculates a measuring value based on the electrical signal and outputsthe measuring value in an output signal; and a signal transmitterconnected to the processor by signal, wherein the signal transmitterreceives the output signal outputted by the processor and converts theoutput signal to a wired or wireless signal and sends the wired orwireless signal to a terminal device; wherein the handlebar comprisestwo gripping portions and a connecting portion; one of the grippingportions is connected to an end of the connecting portion, and the otherof the gripping portions is connected to another end of the connectingportion; the at least one strain gauge is disposed on the connectingportion; wherein the connecting portion has a left section and a rightsection which are connected to each other; the at least one strain gaugecomprises two strain gauges respectively disposed on the left sectionand the right section; the processor respectively calculates a leftmeasuring value and a right measuring value based on deformations of theleft section and the right section detected by the strain gaugesdisposed on the left section and the right section, and respectivelyoutputs the left measuring value and the right measuring value in theoutput signal.
 11. The bicycle power meter of claim 10, wherein themeasuring value comprises at least one of a power value, a torque value,a stress value, and a strain value, or a combination thereof.
 12. Thebicycle power meter of claim 10, wherein the processor calculates apercentage of the left measuring value out of a sum of the leftmeasuring value and the right measuring value and a percentage of theright measuring value out of the sum of the left measuring value and theright measuring value based on the left measuring value and the rightmeasuring value, and send the percentage of the left measuring value outof a sum of the left measuring value and the right measuring value andthe percentage of the right measuring value out of the sum of the leftmeasuring value and the right measuring value in the output signal. 13.The bicycle power meter of claim 10, wherein the terminal devicecomprises a display connected to the signal transmitter by signal fordisplaying a detecting result corresponding to the at least one straingauge.
 14. The bicycle power meter of claim 10, wherein the handlebarand the stem are integrally formed as a monolithic unit.